Media Watch

BLAKE ROGERS LET GO BY THE MOUNTAIN

KWMT FM 92.9 The Mountain has bounced program
director/morning co-host Blake Rogers—a move that caught
many people, including Rogers, by surprise.

"I don't know what their plan was," said Rogers. "It wasn't
something, in my opinion, that had been thought about for very
long."

Rogers joined the Clear Channel-operated station five years ago and
helped mold the AAA/adult-alternative format there—which is
probably the closest thing to "unique" among the cookie-cutter
corporate-radio formats in this market. The sudden firing suggests he
may have been on the losing end of a political battle with morning show
co-host Jennie Grabel.

"It's been a challenge to find the right chemistry in the morning.
I'm the fourth co-host to be paired with Jennie in the last five
years," said Rogers. "I was sent there to the morning show two years
ago to try to boost ratings. In fact, we were top 5 in the market
earlier this year for the first time ever. I think it's a fair question
to ask why they would go back to something that wasn't working."

Rogers began his stint at The Mountain as the music director and as
a weekday-afternoon DJ. He eventually gained the title of assistant
program director and later program director.

The element of surprise in his dismissal is furthered by Rogers'
relationship with Clear Channel Tucson operations manager Tim
Richards (who was unavailable for comment): The two are
cousins.

"He was the one who let me go, but that has nothing to do with this.
I was never protected by family," Rogers said. "I was probably a little
more scrutinized than the average employee just based on that. When I
was hired five years ago, people may have thought there was a little
bit of nepotism, but based on the ratings success and the events we did
at the station that I was a part of, I proved myself over the years.
... I'm sure it was difficult for him. There was always mutual respect
for the position. It did take a couple years to figure out the groove
to work in, but we figured it out. Being related didn't have a play in
it. It was business, and business is business."

However, Rogers said the relationship factor and his roles regarding
Grabel—which created a sort of who's-the-boss scenario—made
for some unique management issues.

"We were close. We worked a lot together. She was the music
director. There was a difficult dynamic, because I was her boss as
well, yet when we did the morning show, I was her co-host and not the
program director. There were many difficult balances. ... There were
definitely some dynamics to manage, and I thought I did a great job
doing that throughout the time I was there. I know there was a
challenge finding someone to mesh the chemistry right. I'm the fourth
person to be paired with her, and the fourth person who is no longer at
the radio station."

Clear Channel's decision to cut Rogers loose also came at an
interesting time in terms of the number of events he had on his
plate.

"Some of the projects I've been working on are our next Studio C
show for charity; our Green October broadcasts, which is a big
production every October; (and) our holiday concert, which I was
putting together as well," said Rogers. "I was appointed to a small
committee by Clear Channel. They were leaning heavily on my contacts in
Congress to gain support against this 'performance tax' bill initiative
by record companies that would cost radio stations thousands of dollars
extra per year. I was appointed to another small committee by our
company, working with the Tucson Police Department on a campaign
against graffiti, so I've been writing some PSAs with those guys. I
worked ... with Angel Charity on the kids' fashion show fundraiser. We
raised $265,000 three weeks ago for the Children's Miracle Network and
(Tucson Medical Center). That was a Jennie-and-Blake venture. I also
did a lot of work with Tu Nudito. I work on their annual charity
auction and am on the committee. Those were the sorts of things I was
doing and we were working on."

Rogers has yet to plot his next move, although in the interim, he's
keeping busy with his Web endeavors at blakerogers.biz.

"I put a lot of hard work into launching the station five years ago,
and I know we had a couple of casualties in the market because of the
station: Star 97.5 (now Citadel-owned Bob 97.5 KSZR FM) and The
Point 104.1 (now Journal-owned KQTH 104.1 FM). Those were
competitors, and we were making some headway. Things were good."

TRIBBLE, JOSEPH LATEST TO LEAVE KVOA; CARR REJOINS KGUN

"After three years at KVOA, I am moving on," Tribble said via
e-mail. "I've accepted a job as a multimedia journalist at KPNX, the
NBC affiliate in Phoenix. Also, I'll be closer to my girlfriend of a
few years who lives in Phoenix, so it's a good professional and
personal move. I've enjoyed the three years I've spent in Tucson, but
like Major League Baseball, the TV business is about climbing your way
up, which includes moving every few years."

Tribble's last day will be Oct. 23. His decision to leave KVOA
occurred before the station officially implemented its one-man-band
multimedia-journalist policy. (Check out last week's Media Watch for
more on that.) Tribble is moving onto one of two stations in Phoenix
that have activated a similar local-news model.

Joseph will leave KVOA in late November.

Meanwhile, on the eastside, Forrest Carr was officially named
KGUN Channel 9's news director. He replaces Lena
Sadiwskyj, who was let go last month. Carr was KGUN's news director
a decade ago. Since then, he has handled similar duties with stations
in Florida and Albuquerque, N.M.

Last week in Chandler, Bob Richardson was arrested for allegedly soliciting male masseuses at his residences, and then using hidden cameras set up in the locations to view the footage again later.

It's no secret media, like a lot of industries, has endured its share of major changes due to transitions in the technological landscape. Many folks who run large media conglomerates are getting paid handsomely to devise strategies that best implement ways to maximize a shrinking bottom line.